Liquid controlled device with selfcleaning valve



C. COLLINS Feb. 17, 1953 LIQUID CONTRQLLED DEVICE WITH SELF-CLEANINGVALVE 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Jan. 30, 1951 IN VENTOR 34 CALHOUN COLL/NS;

W v ATTORNEYS c. COLLINS 2,628,630

Feb. 17, 1953 LIQUID CONTROLLED DEVICE WITH SEbF-CLEANiNG VALVE 2sm'rs-srmm 2 Filed Jan. 50, 1951 INVENTOR- 28 CALHOUN C01. L/lvs I I i3/ f, It

' ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 17, 1953 LIQUID CONTROLLED DEVICE WITH SELF-CLEANING VALVE Calhoun Collins, Bakersfield, Calif., assignor oftwo-fifths to California Pacific Service, Inc., Bakersfield, Calif., acorporation of California, and one-fifth to Theodore M. Ryerson,Bakersfield, Calif.

Application January 30, 1951,-Serial No. 208,498

8 Claims.

My invention relates to liquid controlled devices of the type disclosedin Patent 2,205,811, granted June 25, 1940, and more particularly tosuch devices used in connection with laundry extractors which must bestopped at the proper time to leave the required moisture content in theload in the extractor.

In the device of said patent a cup with a valve controlled drainreceived a portion of the liquid discharged from the extractor and whenthe discharge dwindled to a point where the drain through the valve wasgreater than the amount of liquid entering the cup, the latter waselevated by spring means to operate a switch which controlled theoperation of the electric motor driving the extractor. When the waterdischarged from the extractor contained much lint, the latter collectedat the small drain opening in the cup and clogged or partially cloggedthe same, and thus affected the operation of the device. Further it wasfound difiicult to maintain the desired spring tension in the means forelevating the cup. It is therefore an object of this invention toovercome these drawbacks to my earlier device.

Another object is to provide a more simple and less expensive device ofthis character which at the same time is more reliable and efiective inoperation.

A further object is to provide a device of this character in which thedrain valve or outlet of the cup is automaticallyflushed at eachoperation of the device to remove lint or other foreign matter, thusmaking the device self-cleaning.

With the above and other objects and advantages in view the inventionresides in the novel combinations and arrangements of parts and in thenovel features of construction hereinafter described and claimed, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings which show the presentpreferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a liquid controlled device showing theparts in normal position as when there is no discharge from theextractor;

Fig. 2 is a detail perspective showing a portion of Fig. 1 but with thecup in a position to cause the valve to uncover the drain outlet so thatlint or foreign matter may be flushed out;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the'cup in its normal or raisedposition in full lines and in its tilted or lowered position in dottedlines;

Fig. 4 is a detail horizontal section on an enlarged scale taken on theline 4-4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the valve adjustment to control thedrain from the cup,

Referring more in detail to the drawings the numeral I0 denotes theliquid outlet or discharge pipe from a laundry extractor (not shown). Myimproved liquid controlled device I I may be suspended from such pipe bymeans of a substantially Y-shaped bracket I2 and a two-part clamp I3.The latter is shown as a metal strap bent around the pipe with its endsfastened to the opposite sides of a plate I-I having at its top a curvedseat to engage the bottom of the pipe. The lower end of the plate I4 issecured by bolts or the like between the rear ends of two angular metalbars I5 forming the bracket or support I2. The bars I5 have oppositelyprojecting portions I6 from which extend two opposed and parallelsupporting arms IT. The device II is pivotally mounted on a horizontalaxis between said arms.

The device II comprises an elongated body normally disposed in asubstantially horizontal position and pivotally mounted between its endson a stationary tubular shaft I 8 fixed in the arms I! of the support.As shown the body II is of rectangular shape and its front or outer endI9 has an open top and forms a rectangular chamber or cup which receivesthe liquid flowing from the end of the pipe or liquid passage Ill. Therear or inner end 23 of the body I I forms a closed chamber 24 tocontain an electric circuit controlling switch generally indicated at25; and it may have a suitable removable top or cover 26 to affordaccess to the switch. The weight of the end 23 is greater than that ofthe end I9 when the cup contains no liquid-or very little liquid, andhence the cup is biased upwardly by gravity. At the center of the rearend 23 at its top portion is a rearwardly projecting stop finger 21 toengage the rear portion of the bracket I2 to limit the downward movementof said end so that the body I I will be normally held in the positionshown in full lines in Fig. 3. When water or other liquid flows from thepipe I0, the additional Weight of the liquid in the cup overbalances thecup end I9 and the body tilts. The tilting movement of the body operatesthe switch 25 as hereinafter described.

In the outer or front wall of the cup 20 at or near its bottom I providea large opening 28 of any suitable shape controlled by a valve 29 whichis in the form of a thin, rust-proof metal plate pivoted at 30 on theouter face of the front wall. The pivoted valve disk orplate has a loweredge portion in which is formed an opening or notch 3| to cooperate withthe opening 28 in forming a drain, the effective size of which may becontrolled by adjusting the plate on its pivot 30.

Instead of forming the notch in the valve plate it may be formed in anedge of the opening 28, as shown at 28'; or both notches 3| and 28 maybe used. Obviously both notches may be omitted and the drain openingformed by the valve plate being adjusted to cover most of the opening 28which may be of triangular or other shape, but I have found that by theuse of at least one notch better results are obtained, and I preferablyuse the two opposed notches. It will be seen that the opening 28, 28forms a combined drain and flushout opening or outlet for the cup. Itwill be seen on reference to Fig. 5 that the pivotal movement of thevalve plate will move the notch 3| relative to a portion of the edge ofthe opening 28, if notch 28' is not used, so that more or less of thenotch will be in registration with said opening to control the amount ofliquid that may drain from the cup in a predetermined time. If bothnotches 3| and 28' are used, as shown, the effective size of the drainis determined by the adjustment of the notch 3| relative to the opposednotch 28 as will be understood upon reference to Fig. 5.

The valve may be set or adjusted for any desired moisture content in theload in the extractor by means of an adjusting screw 32 which alsoserves as a stop to limit the swinging movement of the valve in onedirection. It will be noted that the pivot is closer to one side thanthe other of the valve plate so that the latter is overbalanced. Itslarger and heavier side 33 will therefore cause the plate to swing bygravity to normally close the valve opening or outlet 28, 28' exceptthat portion which is in register with the notch 3| to form the drain.The screw 32 may be threaded through a lug 34 on the front of the cupand it is adapted to be engaged by a stop finger 35 bent outwardly fromthe lower portion of the overbalanced side or end 33 of the valve. swungupwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, the valve will completely uncover theopening or outlet sothat a large volume of liquid will leave the cup 24and thus flush out any lint or foreign matter that may have collected atsaid opening and at the notch 3|. This flushing out or cleaning actionof the valve takes place on each operation of the device. If desired thetop of the cup may be covered by a screen (not shown) to prevent thelarger pieces of lint or other foreign matter from entering the cup.

The weight of the overbalanced end 23 of the control member or bodyholds the cup end elevated when no liquid is flowing from the outlet ordischarge pipe I 0, but when a large volume enters the cup 24, the endIQ of the control II tilts downwardly under the weight of the liquid,and the valve 29 is moved to its open or flushing position. The valve isthus operated by providing at the top of its end 33 a laterallyprojecting portion or arm 36 which coacts with a pivoted trip 31 mountedon an extension bracket arm 38 projecting forwardly or outwardly fromone of the arms I! of the support l2. The bracket 38 is a fiat metal barriveted or otherwise secured at its rear end and at its outer endcarries, a pivot 40 on which the trip 31 swings. The trip is a flatmetal plate disposed against the inner face of the bracket and projectsforwardly from the bracket in a plane at right angles to the plane ofthe valve plate 29 so as to lie in the path of movement of the arm 36 asthe cup end of the control tilts downwardly and upwardly. A stop finger4| projects laterally from the upper edge of the forward portion Whensaid end 33 is of the trip to engage the upper edge of the bracket 38 tolimit the downward swinging movement of the trip, and the front end ofthe latter is beveled or rounded as at 42 so that the arm 36 may engagethe bevel or cam portion 42 to lift the trip and pass it when the cupmoves upwardly from its lowered position. In other words the tripremains stationary when the cup 24 moves downwardly and the arm 36 israised as it passes the trip, and thus the valve 29 uncovers the opening23 only long enough to produce the flushing action. After arm 36 passesthe trip the valve swings to its closed position against the stop 32 sothat the amount of liquid that continues to drain from the lowered cupdepends upon the adjustment of the notch 3| with respect to the edge ofthe opening 28 or the notch 28. When the desired moisture content isreached the drain from the cup exceeds the amount of liquid that entersthe cup from the pipe l0, and when the weight of the remaining water inthe cup is insufiicient to overbalance the end 23 of the control, thecup swings up to its normal position. The end 23 of the control may belarger and heavier than the cup end l9, or weights 55 may be used tooverbalance the cup and a small amount of liquid therein.

The swinging movement of the control [I 0D- erates the switch 25 tocontrol one or more electric circuits. The switch may operate a suitablesignal or control directly or indirectly the motor which operates theextractor; but I preferably use the switch to close or cause the closingof the extractor driving motor circuit when the cup swings downwardlyand to cause the application of a brake on the extractor when the cupswings upwardly. The switch is preferably of the type shown in Patent2,323,646, dated July 6, 1943. It comprises a cam blade 43 having oneend fixed in a sectional block or support 44 of insulation fastened tothe rear wall of the compartment 24 as seen in Fig. 4 so that the cammoves with the tilting control The switch also comprises three resilientcontact fingers 45, 46 and 41 which project in the same direction from asectional support 48 of insulation fixed to the portion of thestationary tubular shaft 8 within the compartment or casing 24. Theintermediate finger 46 is provided with a rearwardly extending operatingportion or member 49 which is disposed in the path of swinging movementof the flat angularly disposed cam 43. The finger 46 is normallyseparated from the other fingers and 41, and the parts 43 and 49 are soarranged that when the end 23 of the control swings up and down theoperating member 49 will move alternately over the opposite faces of thecam 43 to cause the contact finger to alternately engage the contacts 45and 4! to complete suitable electric circuits. One circuit may cause theextractor motor to start and stop while the other circuit may cause abrake for the extractor to be applied and released. The contact fingershave terminals 53 for the connection of conductor wires 5| which maypass into the fixed tube or shaft 8 through an opening 52 and then passout of the end 53. The latter may be externally screw threaded for theattachment of an outlet box on a metal conduit through which theelectric wires are run. The fixed tubular shaft extends through bearingopenings 54 in the side walls of the control body H and its end portionsmay be fastened in any suitable manner in the arms I! of the support l2.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with gas-mt variations withinthe scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described having a support, a cup adapted tocontinuously receive some liquid discharging from an outlet, a controlmember mounting said cup on said support for downward movement under theweight of liquid therein, said cup having in the lower por-.

tion thereof a combined drain and flush-out outlet, a valve mounted onsaid cup to control the how of liquid through said outlet, said valvebeing movable in one direction to fully open said outlet for flushing itand being movable in another direction for restricting the flow throughsaid outlet to provide a drain for the cup, means to limit the movementof said valve in the last mentioned direction toward its drain position,the conducting capacity of the outlet when said valve is in its drainposition being insufficient to drain said cup until the flow of liquidinto the cup dwindles to a predetermined extent, and trip means carriedby said support and coacting with said Valve to move it to open positionfor momentarily flushing said outlet each time said cup lowers under theweight of liquid therein.

2. A device of the class described comprising a support, a controlmember pivotally mounted on said support to swing vertically, a cupcarried by one end of said member and adapted to be positioned tocontinuously receive some liquid discharging from an outlet, said cupswinging downwardly under the weight of liquid therein, said cup havingin the lower portion thereof a combined drain and flush-out opening, apivoted valve on said cup to control the flow of liquid through saidopening, said valve being movable in one direction to fully open saidopening for flushing it and being movable in the opposite direction forrestricting the flow through it to provide a drain for said cup, meansto limit the movement of said valve in the last mentioned directiontoward its drain position, the conducting capacity of the opening whensaid valve is in its drain position being insufiicient to drain said cupuntil the now of liquid into the cup dwindles to a predetermined extent,and trip means carried by said support and coacting with said valve tomove it to open position for momentarily flushing said opening each timesaid cup swings downwardiy under the weight of liquid therein.

3. A device of the class described comprising a support, a controlmember pivotally mounted on said support to swing vertically, a cupcarried by one end of said member and adapted to be positioned tocontinuously receive some liquid discharging from an outlet, said cupswinging downwardiy under the weight of liquid therein, said cup havingan outer end with a flat portion in which is formed adjacent its bottoma combined drain and flush-out opening, a valve plate pivotaliy mountedon the outer face of said end to move over said opening, said valveplate being movable to an open position in which it uncovers saidopening to permit the latter to be flushed out and being movable to adrain position in which the valve plate does not completely close theopening so that there will be a limited flow of liquid between edgeportions ofthe valve plate and the opening to provide a drain for thecup, adjustable means to limit the movement of said valve plate in thedirection of its drain position to permit the drain from the cup to bevaried, the conducting capacity of the drain being insufficient to drainsaid cup until the flow of liquid into the cup dwindles to apredetermined extent, and trip means carried by said support andcoacting with said valve plate to move it to open position formomentarily flushing said opening each time said cup swings downwardlyunder the weight'of liquid therein.

4 The structure ofcl-aim 3 in which said trip means comprises anupwardly swingable trip plate pivoted on a portion of said support forup lying in the path of movement of a portion of said valve plate whenthe cup swings downwardly, said trip plate being moved upwardly "bythe=valve plate portion to permit the latter to pass it when the cupswings upwardly.

5. The structure of claim 3 in which at least one of the coacting edgesof the valve plate and the opening, which edges form the cup drain, isprovided with a notch through which the liquid drains from the cup, andthe effective size of which may be varied by said adjustable means.

6. The structure of claim 3 in which the coacting edges of the valveplate and the opening, which edges form the cup drain, are formed withopposed notches through which the liquid drains from the cup, and theeffective size of which may be varied by said adjustable means.

'7. In a device of the class described, a support, an elongated controlbody fulcrumed between its ends on said support and having at its outerend a cup to receive liquid, the outer end of said cup having a flatwall portion formed in its lower part with a combined drain andflush-out opening, a valve plate to control said opening and pivotedoil-center to said cup and disposed against said flat wall portion, saidvalve plate being movable to an open position in which it uncovers saidopening to permit the latter to be flushed out and being movable to adrain position in which the valve plate does not completely close theopening so that there will be a limited flow of liquid between edgeportions of the valve plate and the opening to provide a drain for thecup, adjustable stop means between said cup and the heavier portion ofsaid valve plate to limit the swinging movement of the valve plate inthe direction of the drain position, said valve plate having on itsheavier portion a laterally projecting arm, and upwardly yieldably tripmeans carried by said support and arranged in the path of movement ofsaid arm as said cup swings on the fulcrum of said body.

8. A device of the class described comprising a supporting brackethaving a cross portion with two horizontally spaced arms projectingoutwardly therefrom, a transverse shaft fixed to the outer portions ofsaid arms, a rectangular control body pivotally mounted between its endson said shaft and having its inner end disposed between said arms, saidinner end forming a switch-receiving compartment and being heavier thanits out end, a stop on said inner end to engage said cross portion tonormally hold said body in a substantially horizontal position, theouter end of said body forming a liquid receiving cup having a flatouter end face provided in its lower portion with a combined drainandflushout opening, avalve plate to control said opening disposed onthe exterior of said end face and pivoted thereto, said valve platebeing movable to an open position in which it uncovers said opening topermit the latter to be flushed out and being movable to a drainposition in which the valve plate does not completely close the openingso that there will be a limited flow of liquid between edge portions ofthe valve plate and the opening to provide a drain for the cup, saidvalve plate being overbalanced to normally swing by gravity toward itsdrain position, coacting stops on said valve plate and said end wall ofthe cup to limit the swing of the valve toward its drain position, anadjusting screw carried by one of the last-mentioned stops forengagement with the other for varying the size of the drain, said valveplate having on its heavier portion an arm projecting laterally beyondone side of said end wall of the cup. a bracket extension projectingout- 8 wardly from one of said arms, and a trip plate pivoted to saidextension and disposed in a plane at right angles to the plane of saidvalve plate, said trip plate having a portion normally disposed in thepath of movement of the arm of said latch plate for moving said valveplate momentarily to open position each time said cup swings downwardly,said trip plate being yieldable upwardly to permit said arm to pass itwhen said cup moves upwardly to its normal position.

CALHOUN COLLINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,172,584 Conrad Feb. 22, 19161,822,901 Lacy-Mulhall Sept. 15, 1931 2,205,811 Calhoun June 25, 19402,554,229 Woodson May 22, 1951

